The ''Compagnie de Chemin de fer du Katanga'' (CFK) was a railway company in the

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

and

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

between 1902 and 1952. It held the railway concession that linked the port of

Bukama Bukama is a town in Haut-Lomami Province of south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 42,718. Climate Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as a tropical savanna c ...

on the navigable section of the

Lualaba River The Lualaba River (, , ) flows entirely within the eastern part of Democratic Republic of the Congo. It provides the greatest streamflow to the Congo River, while the River source, source of the Congo is recognized as the Chambeshi River, Chambeshi ...

through the mining region and the town of Elisabethville (

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi ( , ; former ; former ) is the second-largest Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital ...

) to

Sakania Sakania is a town in Haut-Katanga Province, in the Congo Pedicle, in the far south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, near the border with Zambia. It is located at an elevation of 1278m asl, therefore it has a cool climate. Between 1935 and 1939 ...

, where it connected with the Rhodesian railway network. Operations were subcontracted to the ''

Compagnie du chemin de fer du bas-Congo au Katanga The ''Compagnie du chemin de fer du bas-Congo au Katanga'' (BCK) was a railway operator in the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and later in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zaire. Most of the lines were in the southern Katanga Province, wit ...

'' (BCK).

Background

The ''

Compagnie du Katanga The Compagnie du Katanga was a concession company of the Congo Free State that engaged in mining in the Katanga Province. History The company was founded by Leopold II in 1891 to occupy part of the Free State in order to dissuade a British claim ...

'' was founded in 1891 to explore the southeast of the Congo Free State. Under agreements of March 1891 and May 1896 the company was to occupy and develop Katanga, and in return gained full ownership of 1/3 of the land in

Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...

and a 99 license to exploit the minerals in the granted land. Given the difficulty of determining the land boundaries, in 1900 the ''Compagnie du Katanga'' and the Congo Free State created the ''

Comité Spécial du Katanga The Special Committee of Katanga (, or CSK) was a parastatal body created in 1900 by the Congo Free State and the Compagnie du Katanga. At first it was responsible for administering the huge Katanga Province on behalf of the Free State and for ex ...

'' (CSK) to manage all the territory, with profits shared between the ''Compagnie du Katanga'' (1/3) and the Free State (2/3). Katanga had huge mineral potential but was completely isolated from the ocean. Railways were needed to carry exports to overseas markets. To the south, railways were built from South Africa to

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

in Rhodesia (

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

), and from Mozambique to Salisbury (

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

) in Rhodesia, a link from Bulawayo to Salisbury was started and a northern extension was planned.

Creation

The ''Comité Spécial du Katanga'' (CSK) created the ''Compagnie de Chemin de fer du Katanga'' (CFK) on 11 March 1902. It had a capital of 1,000,000 francs. The Congo Free State held 2,400 shares and the businessman and industrialist

Robert Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Architecture * Train %26 Williams#Robert Edmund Williams, Robert Edmund Williams (1874–1960), Canadian-American architect * Robert Williams (architect) (1848–1918), Welsh architect a ...

held 1,600 shares. Théodore Heyvaert was president and Robert Williams was vice-president. The CFK was to build links to the region where the city of Elisabethville (

) would be founded. It would create a line from the south of Katanga and a point to be defined between a confluence of the Lufira and the Lualaba where it would connect to the Rhodesian network.

History

The Commandant

Alphonse Jacques Lieutenant-general Baron Jules Marie Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude (24 February 1858 – 24 November 1928), often known as General Jacques, was a Belgian military figure of World War I and colonial advocate. Congo Free State He founded Albertvi ...

, future general and Baron de Dixmude, led an expedition in 1903 to find a route linking the navigable part of the Lualaba to the southern border of Katanga. He decided against using the Lufira valley, and recommended the port of

on the Luulaba as the terminus of the line. The line would pass through what became Elisabethville (

) and connect to the Rhodesian railway at

. On 31 October 1906 the CSK, the Congo Free State and the ''

Société Générale de Belgique The ' (, ; often referred to in Belgium simply as "Société Générale" or SGB) was an investment bank and, subsequently, an industrial and financial conglomerate in Belgium between 1822 and 2003. It has been described as the world's first u ...

'' founded the ''

'' (BCK) to build a rail link from Bukama to Port Franqui on the

Kasai River The Kasai River (, ; called Cassai in Angola) is a left bank tributary of the Congo River, located in Central Africa. The river begins in central Angola and flows to the east until it reaches the border between Angola and the Democratic Republ ...

and to carry out mining research in a defined area.

Jean Jadot Jean Jadot (; 23 November 1909 – 21 January 2009) was a Belgian Catholic prelate who served as apostolic delegate to the United States (the first non-Italian to do so) from 1973 to 1980, and as president of the Secretariat for Non-Christian ...

, who had built the

Beijing–Hankou railway The Beijing–Hankou or Jinghan railway (), also Peking–Hankow railway, was the former name of the railway in China from Beijing to Hankou, on the northern bank of the Yangtze River. The railway was built between 1897 and 1906 by a Belgian com ...

in China, was made managing director. The BCK controlled the CFK on behalf of the government. BCK was responsible for all the track in Katanga, and operated the network and equipment as a whole, while CSK owned the concession. In 1952 the '' Société des Chemins de fer Léopoldville-Katanga-Dilolo'' (LKD) merged with CFK to form the '' Société des Chemins de fer Katanga-Dilolo-Léopoldville'' (KDL). KDL held all the rail network concessions in Katanga, while BCK was the operator. Bukama bridge-pont - panoramio

Network

–

(Elisabethville), opened 1 October 1910 *

– Ruashi Mine, , opened 1 November 1910 (branch line) *

–

Likasi Likasi (formerly official names: Jadotville (French language, French) and Jadotstad (Dutch language, Dutch)) is a Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city in Haut-Katanga Province, in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. ...

(Jadotville), , opened 15 June 1913 **

- Kamatanda Junction, ** Kamatanda Junction – Tenke - Tshilongo River, , opened 15 July 1914 ** Tshilongo River –

Lubudi Lubudi is a territory in the Lualaba Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the ne ...

, , opened 1 April 1918 **

–

, , opened 22 May 1918 * Kamatanda Junction –

Kambove mines The Kambove mines (French language, French: ''Société minière de Kababancola'') are a group of active or abandoned copper mines near Kambove in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They were originally established by the Union Minière du Ha ...

, , opened 15 June 1913 (branch line) * Kambove – Kamfundwa Mine, , opened 1924 (branch line) *

–

Panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. Its body is ...

– Kakontwe, , opened 1928 (branch line)

Citations

Sources